ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Defense announced the 2025 Basic Allowance for Housing would be getting an increase at the start of 2025, giving military service members more room to maneuver when it comes to housing and rent payments.
According to the DOD, the increases will average about 5.4%, providing roughly one million service members, including the more than 99,000 in Georgia, additional assistance for housing costs in the coming year.
Collectively, $29.2 billion will be paid out to service members, and while the rates are changing based on the needs of each rental market and their trends, the DOD says no service members will see a decrease in what they’re already receiving.
“No matter what happens to measured housing costs — including the out-of-pocket expense adjustment — an individual member who maintains uninterrupted Basic Allowance for Housing eligibility in a given location will not see his/her Basic Allowance for Housing rate decrease,” the DOD said in a statement.
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In terms of what service members will see for their housing assistance, “these amounts vary by grade and dependency status and range from $90 to $202 monthly for the 2025 rates.”
According to a DOD Basic Allowance for Housing data tool, service members living in the Midtown Atlanta area could see between $1,752 and $2,247 each month at the first entry-level rank, depending on if they have dependents or live alone. Estimated BAH payouts per month vary by rank, location and if the service member has dependents.
DOD data breaks down the State of Georgia’s military population, as of Dec. 31, 2023, as:
- 55,721 active-duty service members
- 23,644 active-duty spouses
- 45,435 active-duty children
- 43,437 National Guard and reserve members
- 16,870 National Guard and reserve spouses
- 26,601 National Guard and reserve children
As Channel 2 Action News has reported in the past, military members and their families have been hit hard by rising housing costs across the United States.
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The Government Accountability Office reported in November that military families were the demographic most severely impacted by challenges of housing supply and affordability.
The report showed that roughly two-thirds of military service members and their families live in private housing, often in communities near military bases, and use housing allowances to help cover costs.
An analysis of the military community, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2024, showed that 40.8% of Georgia’s military service members were having trouble covering expenses, with nearly 87% stressed about price increases, according to Upgraded Points.
Nationally, the analysis showed that military service members and families face sharper financial burdens than their non-military peers, with 40.2% of service members having financial difficulties compared to 36.6% of all U.S. adults.
“As prices for essentials like housing, food, and transportation continue to climb, the economic well-being of those serving in the U.S. armed forces remains strained,” the analysis from Upgraded Points said, adding that the financial burdens are not restricted to just housing.
This is borne out in research by the University of Georgia, which found as many as one in eight of the U.S.’ military families needed to use a food pantry, food bank or other charity to feed their families in 2023.
For military members and their families that may be in need of additional assistance, the following resources are available:
- Expanded outreach on financial readiness including fielding a Military OneSource Military Leaders Economic Security Toolkit with resources to help leaders identify service members who may be struggling and connect them to resources, https://www.militaryonesource.mil/leaders-service-providers/economic-security/
- Launched Resources for Financial Stress landing page on MilitaryOneSource.mil to connect service members and their families with immediate financial assistance and relevant financial education and planning tools
- Allocated funds to subsidize commissary prices so military families save at least 25% on their purchases
- Enhanced MilitaryOneSource.mil online tools, guides and FAQs to make moving simpler for military families
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